Congress

Thursday, January 6, 2011

The 112th Congressional Session

     This January, there has been a shift in power in the Congress. The previously Democratic leaning Congress has been dominated by the Republicans during the recent elections. The GOP has become the Majority Party, and this means a lot of changes in leadership, perhaps most prominent being the shift in power from Nancy Pelosi to John Boehner as Speaker of the House. Many other faces have changed though too. This Congress will be in session until January of 2014 and will, on average, introduce 11 to 12 bills per year.
     So,what does this new shift in power from one party to the other mean, exactly? Well, the majority of congressman have republican views and will therefore be more likely to cast their votes on important issues in favor of the GOP. But what are the views of the Republicans and how do these views differ from that of the Democrats? Below we have outlined where each party stands on some of the top issues of today.
   Also included, is a glance at who is in charge of Congress and what their jobs entail along with a basic outline the law making process.

Saturday, January 1, 2011

Party Platforms: Where do they stand?

Taxes

Democrats: Gernerally believe that tax rates should depend on a person's income. The richer you are, the more heavily you should be taxed.

Republicans: Tend to favor the idea of a flat tax (same rate no matter income).

Health Care

Democrats: Believe in a health care system where the government is heavily involved creating programs, giving aid, and making it available to everyone.

Republicans: Prefer the government be less involved in the health care system.

Climate/Energy

Democrats: Dislike extensive drilling in environmental areas and offshore, but do agree that the U.S. should push to become more energy independent.

Republicans: Feel offshore drilling is necessary to meet today's high demand and also support the idea of providing tax incentives for energy production.

Education

Democrats: Strongly believe the government should have a firm place within schools and that standardized testing and character building education are very important (Charater Counts). Also, they wish to reduce class sizes, hire new teachers, modernize facilities, and make college tuition tax deductible. Finally, Democrats support the enactment of new tax programs to promote life-long learning.

Republicans: The government's role should be limited within schools. Also, science and math courses should be pushed and students' access into college should be less determined by income or social status and moreso by achievement. Finally, Republicans support home-schooling, school choice, and student initiated prayer.

Debt/Deficits

Both parties agree that the ever-growing federal deficit is beyond exceedingly large and it is a top priority to lessen it. However, they have different views on how this should be done.

Democrats: Raise taxes

Republicans: Cut/Alter programs

Reform

With each new president comes a new slogan; A new vision for what the party plans are and what should be top priority during the upcoming session. So what are each parties main focuses?

Democrats: "Change That Matters." Top priorities include improving American Competitiveness (primarily through improved education system and advancements in technology), ending the war in Afghanistan and all other terrorist threats, and finally, jump-starting the economy.

Republicans: "A Pledge to America." Main focuses of the GOP are lessening government power and involvement overall, reforming the universal health care plan, solving the growing energy crisis with funding to new research, creating jobs (primarily in the energy production area), and lowering the federal deficit.

Immigration

Democrats: Are far less stringent in border control and more open to immigration into the United States. They believe illegal immigrants should be given assistance in becoming citizens and also, they think it is important to help illegals avoid employment exploitation.

Republicans: Believe in tighter borders and are strict when it comes to finding illegals within the country. They think people who request citizensip should go through rigorous testing and background checks and should also be able to contribute to the country once they are a citizen.

Afghanistan

On the situation in the East, both parties are rather split in views. Some avidly support the war while others oppose and there are some in between. Generally speaking, both parties agree that it was a necessary step to liberate a nation in need and protect the United States from further terrorist attacks. However, there is currently no set distinction between parties on whether or not they each support it as a whole.

Platform Video Clip

Not much of a reader? No problem. Most of the views expressed above have been compiled in a video we made, although we were not able to upload it on this site.

Pete: See Flash Drive

Law Making Process

The law making process is pretty much the same for the Senate and House of Representatives. First, the idea has to be written legally, and then it goes through the committee to be read and corrected. Once that is done they send it back to the Senate or House, so they can debate on it and either approve or deny the bill/law. Then it goes to the conference committee and if it is approved from there it goes to debate to the House or Senate depending where it came from. If the majority of each body is passed then the bill/law gets sent to the President. The President has the final say, and if he approves he signs it.

Congress Breakdown

Majority/Minority Parties
Senate:
      Majority: Democrats
      Minority: Republicans

House:
      Majority: Republicans
      Minority: Democrats

Qualifications, Term Length, Salary/Benefits

Senate:
     Qualification:
           Must be 30 years old
           Been a US citizen for 9 years
           Must be inhabitant for the state
     Term Lenght:
           6 years
     Salary:
           $174,000 yearly
     Benefits:
          Represent the State
House:
     Qualification:
          Must be 25 years old
          Been a US citizen for 7 years
          Must be inhabitant of the state he/she represents
     Term Lenght:
           2 years
     Salary:
           $174,000 yearly
     Benefits:
           Represent the State

Leadership Positions & Personnel

Senate:

     President Pro Tempore:
          Rodge Smitherman
                He is the President if the Vice President is absent
     Majority Leader:
          Harry Reid
                He directs the activities of he majority party
     Minority Leader:
          Mitch McConell
                He directs the activities of he minorty party
     Majority Whip:
          Dick Durbin
                Communication link for both parties
     Minority Whip:
          Jon Kyl
               Communication link for both parties

House:
     Speaker of the House:
          John Boenner